Bees bounce back to earn split with Tigers
Game 1
Game 1
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Olivet Nazarene (IL) | 5 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 20 | 20 | 0 |
|
St. Ambrose (IA) | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 3 |
Game 2
Game 2
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Olivet Nazarene (IL) | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 9 | 1 |
|
St. Ambrose (IA) | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | X | 7 | 9 | 5 |
Photo courtesy Scott McCreary
After nothing went right in the first game, St. Ambrose rallied to win the second game 7-6 to earn a split of a doubleheader at Olivet Nazarene Wednesday afternoon.
The Bees, playing as the home team, dropped the first game 20-3 and trailed game two 5-0 in the second inning. Then they came to life.
An ONU balk got the Bees on the board in the second with Joey Fitzgerald scoring to cut the deficit to 5-1. An inning later, Brandon Matias ripped a two-run home run to also plate Adrian Zietara to bring SAU to within 5-3.
Olivet Nazarene (16-23, 13-9 CCAC) got one run back in the top of the fourth to build a 6-3 lead. St. Ambrose (18-17, 12-10 CCAC) came back with two in the bottom half. Chris McFarland's sacrifice fly brought in Jake Mucha and Garrett Latoz singled in Bryce Vincent to trim the deficit to 6-5.
The Bees took the lead in the seventh. Fitzgerald singled to score Jack Day and McFarland's hit brought in Tyreece Morgan to give SAU a 7-6 lead. SAU was able to hold on as the game was called after eight innings due to darkness.
Parker Ruth earned the win in relief of Nathaniel Johnson. Ruth surrendered just two hits and struck out three over three scoreless innings. Jake Jacek pitched around a two-out walk in the eighth to pick up the save.
The victory helped erase thoughts of the opener in which the Tigers pounded out 20 hits and scored at least one run in each of the seven innings. ONU got started with a five-run first inning and added two more in the second.
Fitzgerald's three-run home run in the bottom of the second accounted for all three SAU runs. Olivet Nazarene scored two more in the third, six in the fourth, and three in the fifth before scoring single runs in each of the last two frames.
Sergio Marchizza was charged with the loss. Grant Baker and Carson Spelman each threw multiple innings in relief.
St. Ambrose is scheduled to host Judson Friday at NelsonCorp Field in Clinton, Iowa.